On Media

The New York Times using the Oscars to launch a new ad campaign about 'The Truth'

By HADAS GOLD

02/23/2017 09:00 AM EST

The New York Times is taking the unusual and expensive step of advertising during the Academy Awards on Sunday, joining companies like McDonalds, Samsung and Anheuser-Busch in paying top dollar for commercial spots during the awards show.

The newspaper is using the Oscars platform to launch a multi-faceted ad campaign, centered around the Times’ pursuit of “The Truth.” It’s the paper’s first television brand campaign in a decade, and according to Times executives, is likely the first time they’ve ever advertised during such a popular primetime TV event.

The 30-second ad spot is simple. A white background with black text starts with the words “The truth is our nation is more divided than ever,” while a woman’s voice, meant to sound like a news clip, reads the same line. The lines change, though “The truth is” stays in place.

“The truth is the media is dishonest,” reads one. “The truth is we have to protect our borders,” "The Truth is alternative facts are lies," “The truth is his refugee policy is a backdoor Muslim ban,” while the voices reading the lines, as well as others, become more numerous and start to get louder.

The lines, and the voices, start getting faster, before the voices go silent and the text becomes bold and says “The truth is hard; The truth is hard to find; The truth is hard to know; and The truth is more important now than ever,” before The New York Times logo is displayed. Watch:

Thirty second ad spots for the Oscars can run as much as $2.5 million each, according to Broadcasting and Cable Magazine, meaning the Times is paying a hefty fee for their splashy campaign. Over the past decade, Academy Awards broadcasts have averaged between 34 and 44 million live viewers, an audience only matched by NFL games.

In addition to the Oscars ad, the Times is taking out a national television and digital ad buy, and is setting up billboards in Los Angeles, Washington, New York and San Francisco, said David Rubin, senior vice president and head of brand.

“There’s a national, and frankly global dialogue about the importance of facts and the truth and specifically the role quality independent, original journalism plays in that,” Rubin said. "The Oscars is a great broad showcase for us to continue that dialogue and discussion and the role the Times' journalism plays in it and get people talking about the work we do.”

The campaign, said Meredith Kopit Levien, the Times' executive vice president and chief revenue officer, is part of a brand awareness effort, to show consumers that the journalism they’re reading is coming from the Times and all of the work that goes into having reporters in the field and covering complex topics.

“We think it's a unique opportunity to get people to think about where it comes from and how it's made, to get people to understand the craft of quality journalism and why quality journalism matters,” Levien said.